G. True Nelson: Former Deputy Sheriff, Military Officer, FBI Special Agent, and Security Consultant / Private Investigator. He currently resides in the Portland, Oregon Metro area. He is a writer on crime and judicial process; as well as discussing his personal observations on American culture and social mores.

RETURN

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

And, so it goes. We
might have expected some sort of gradual increasing of law enforcement pressure
at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge; but, instead, it was sudden and
violent – right out of the play book for the Bonnie and Clyde take-down. This may have been correct and proper under
the circumstances. I don’t know. It’s hard for any in the public to know at
this point. The FBI has been rather
reticent.

It is entirely understandable – in a way. Law enforcement authorities were under
increased pressure to act. The Oregon
Governor weighed-in with the U.S Department of Justice demanding some sort of
resolution by the FBI. Don’t get me
wrong, I don’t believe the Governor was anticipating or demanding what ultimately
occurred. It’s just that the complete,
at least apparently so, inaction on the part of the FBI baffled and frustrated everyone
including the Governor – who was undoubtedly being briefed by the State Police
on a daily basis. This would indicate to
me that the Oregon State Police, the other principal law enforcement agency,
was just as mystified as the rest of us.

Well, Ammon Bundy and six or seven other principals in the
occupation are now in jail, held without bail.
One of the principals, however, is in the morgue (Robert LaVoy Finicum) –
shot by law enforcement. The exact
circumstances of that shooting have not yet been released.

The siege continues.
There are still some hardcore hold-outs.
The FBI is telling them that they are free to leave; but that isn’t actually
realistic. Many of those still inside
the Refuge headquarters have been almost certainly implicated in numerous crimes,
including felonies. The FBI doesn’t have
the authority to issue them a ‘get out of jail free’ card. The occupiers know this.

Road-blocks and checkpoints are now in place. Why road-blocks were not put in place weeks
ago – I have no idea.

Monday, January 25, 2016

If you read my previous post, you will have noted that I
gave the FBI and their local law enforcement compadres my recommendations for
what they should be doing. They,
however, decided against my plan, at least for the time-being. The FBI does have formalized directives
issued to the on-scene agents and support personnel. And, I was able to obtain a copy of the
FBI’s current plan.

The FBI has decided that daily briefings on the actions of
the ‘occupiers,’ and the collection of massive background data is sufficient
for now. It must be said that the FBI’s
plan is and has been somewhat frustrating to the public, as well as Oregon
Governor Kate Brown who noted the ‘standoff’ has been ‘pretty darn costly to
Oregon taxpayers’ ( I think the latest figure was $500,000). The FBI’s Special Agent-in-Charge,
nonetheless, would find the Governor’s complaints rather uniformed and puerile;
and would undoubtedly counter with ‘whatever the Oregon taxpayers have paid-out,
the feds have spent ten times that amount.’

My source is keeping me apprised of the FBI’s investigative
efforts regarding ‘MalBirdRef.’ It is
the FBI’s custom to designate a case name that will facilitate and focus
in-house communications; hence the case name ‘MalBirdRef.’ The following recently obtained SOP should
clarify much of the public’s concern about whether or not the FBI is actively
and credibly involved in resolving the ‘occupation’ of the Malheur National
Wildlife Refuge. In that Bureau procedural directives can be somewhat confusing to the uninitiated, I have included my own
explanation of each directive – my comments in italics.

MalBirdRef Standard Operating Procedures / Effective
Instant Date

All investigators (FBI and Local Law Enforcement
support personnel) objectives: Identify,
conduct background, interview when possible and fully document information
concerning the following persons-of-interest (POIs):

Under this directive’s
objectives, of particular concern are visitors, supporters and potential Bundy
converts, from the following states.
Vehicles registered in those states should be stopped and a field
interrogation conducted to determine the reason for the driver being in Oregon,
and specifically in Harney County.
Applicable States: Montana,
Idaho, Nevada and New Hampshire.

True’s explanation:
Montana, Idaho and Nevada are ‘Red’ states bordering Oregon; and moreover
Nevada is Ammon Bundy’s home state and potential supporters might follow him to
Oregon. New Hampshire was added to the
stop and interrogate list because of the State Motto on their vehicle plates –
“Live Free or Die.”

Stop and Interview: Any operator and passenger of a four-wheel-drive
truck (Ford, Chevy, Dodge) holding two men and no women. Foreign made four-wheel-drive trucks are considered
low priority, unless other directives apply.

True’s
explanation: Two men together (not that
there is anything wrong with that)… objective unclear.

Stop and
Interview: Men with beards, particularly
untrimmed beards and associated slovenly appearance, driving older model
vehicles, or in some instances stolen government vehicles. Baseball caps worn backwards are a negative
indicator. Cowboy hats are a
discretionary call.

True’s explanation:
Seems pretty clear to me.

Stop and
Interview: Drivers of any vehicle
bearing a military theme license plate or other similar identifiers. This directive would also apply to personal apparel,
indicating the driver is or was a member of the military, or simply thinks
military apparel is cool.

True’s
explanation: Most current FBI Agents
were never in the military and are highly suspicious of those who would
volunteer for that kind of duty.
Furthermore, they understand that many military members have been
traumatized by their experiences and are therefore unpredictably
confrontational and prone to join right-wing organizations like the VFW.

Stop and Interview: Driver of any four-wheel-drive vehicle flying
the American Flag.

True’s explanation: It’s believed that flying the American flag
in this manner is highly questionable behavior indicating neurotic patriotism
and instability.

Stop and
Interview: Driver of any vehicle bearing
identifiers that said driver and/or passengers are religious extremists. (Church of Latter Day Saints is the exception
to this directive to avoid aggravating Wildlife Refuge occupiers.)

Stop and
Interview: Any individual displaying guns,
weapons or associated paraphernalia, to include gun racks in rear windows of
vehicles; unless the driver is a ‘certified’ member of the Wildlife Refuge
occupation. In that eventuality, he or
she should not be bothered in that such contact could lead to a confrontational
situation.

Thursday, January 14, 2016

There was a good article by Maxine Berstein, in the
Wednesday edition of The Oregonian – titled ‘Why
don’t officials try to oust Oregon occupiers?’ An interesting and relevant question to
ask. Furthermore, it appears that many
residents in and around Burns, Oregon, and those in close proximity to the
Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, are wondering the same thing. I, too, wonder.

I’ve been to the Refuge area – just last summer in fact –
spent about four days over there. It was
beautiful, prairie-like and remote – great place for bird watching and catching
a glimpse of wild mustangs. Oh, and one
other thing, the best hamburger I can recall having was served to me at the
Diamond Hotel, located in the very small town of Diamond.

Environmental conditions at the Wildlife Refuge can be
bitterly cold this time of year – life threatening if one is exposed to the
elements. Currently, roadblocks could be
tough duty for the law enforcement personnel assigned, but possible. Controlling access from all directions into
the Refuge, including overland access, nearly impossible. That said, the current weather is a
contributing factor in controlling most access to the Refuge buildings. That will last until the cold temperatures
ease-off in late February or March.
However, when spring arrives – if nothing is done by law enforcement –
the current take-over of the Refuge could become a regular three-ring circus,
with people arriving from all over the country to join the festivities.

So what could /should be done? Law enforcement has to gradually take
control. Accordingly, local access has
to be restricted. How? I would suggest that access to the Refuge by
reporters or some others would require a permit from law enforcement. The area around the Refuge, say approximately
one square mile should be designated ‘No Trespassing,’ and that authorized
access would only be granted with a permit.
This would put the authorities back in some semblance of control. Now, it seems to appear that law enforcement
is uncertain, indecisive and helpless – that Ammon Bundy is in the driver’s
seat.

What if someone enters without a permit? Well, this is not a perfect system; but some
efforts need to be made to identify trespassers. This might require a continuing law
enforcement presence in the area to monitor roads. Have the National Guard set up some temporary
facilities so that law enforcement personnel, monitoring the roads, can have
some comforts and protection from the elements on a 24 hour basis.

Overflights with cameras might be another option. What about satellite monitoring? If, nonetheless, some individuals insist upon
entering, even when advised not to, or actually sneak in, those individuals
would be subsequently cited for trespass and face arrest upon leaving the
occupied Refuge area.

I would suggest that some reporters
be given a permit and allowed to enter the Refuge and talk to Bundy and his
associates – allow Bundy a voice – as well as to monitor conditions inside. I would suggest that basic comfort supplies
be allowed to enter the Refuge with a permit – food, clothing, etc. I would suggest that no guns or ammunition or
liquor be allowed to pass the checkpoint.

Of course, the other option is sitting back and hoping Ammon Bundy and his
associates get tired and go home – before hundreds of people converge on the
area in the spring – to include Bundy supporters, various militia members and survialists, tourists, mental
cases, you name it.

In the meantime,
without some action on the part of law enforcement (other than talk) there is a
high probability that other facilities will be taken over. Come spring, the real fun could begin.

Sunday, January 10, 2016

Am I the only one who can’t make heads or tails about what
Ammon Bundy is attempting to accomplish with the takeover of the Malheur
National Wildlife Refuge administration building. Yes, I’ve read the newspaper articles; but to
me it still doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.
And, when you take over federal property, attempting to intimidate the
authorities with guns, doesn’t that make you a ‘terrorist’ (if at very least a
terrorist with a small ‘t’)? Perhaps, if
Bundy could boil his demands down to a brief, coherent, published manifesto, we
could all think it over.

It really is kind of funny.
Did you see the picture, today, of the armed militant with the Pacific
Patriots Network on the front page of the Oregonian newspaper? Boy, that guy is right out of central casting
for a Chevy Chase movie. Question: Do any of these guys have actual jobs? Yes, of course, that’s none of my business.

On the other hand, I completely understand that this whole
matter could suddenly turn deadly serious (Wounded Knee, Waco and Ruby Ridge).

As an FBI Agent, I spent a couple of months at Wounded Knee
and have some knowledge of what a siege situation is like and how it can turn
from bad to worse.

Don’t get me wrong.
I’m not entirely on the government’s side. They have dictated, encroached and overly
regulated entirely too much on property rights.
I could go on for a good while – potentially boring every reader into a
coma.

It could be said that the federal government’s regulations
put the Oregon timber industry out of business.
Towns dried up and died. Good
paying jobs were lost. Why? Because some egg-head back East decided that
a former worker in an Oregon plywood mill could just as easily subsist on the
salary he potentially could make at McDonalds or Jiffy Lube. And, or, he could go to a community college
at age 50 and learn how to become a plumber’s assistant.

Oh, and, whatever happened to the Spotted Owl? It’s living happily in the virgin Oregon forests
I would assume.

I worked many years for a large forest products company as
their Western Region Security Manager. As
a corporate employee, I was headquartered in Portland and was responsible for
eleven western states. But, let’s just
take Oregon for example. When I started with
the company there were 10 or 12 mills, plus various facilities and timber
operations throughout Oregon with literally thousands of employees with pretty
darn good jobs. As my own ‘early retirement’
grew near, I happened to be the last employee with the company still in Oregon. I had been retained to provide a security
presence for all the closures and terminations.

Regarding the Malheur imbroglio, I have some thoughts on
what law enforcement and the FBI are probably now thinking. Top of the list almost certainly: ‘Let’s not let this situation blow up in our
faces.’ To use a metaphor, it’s a
carefully orchestrated dance. The FBI
provides the music for now, but Ammon Bundy is leading.

Three Laws for Effective Gun Control

Here are three potential laws that I would recommend for effective gun control:

1) Convicted felon in possession of a gun: automatic three years in prison - no judicial discretion - no chance for parole.

2) Knowingly selling or furnishing a gun to a convicted felon: automatic three years in prison - no judicial discretion - no chance for parole.

3) Theft of a gun, during the commission of a felony: automatic three years in prison - no judicial discretion - no chance for parole - sentence in addition to any time associated with the attendant felony.